Sleep Paralysis
by pinkhairkunoichi
Summary: Sakura goes through sleep paralysis for the first time. Sasuke comforts her and realizes he wants to keep doing it, always.


**Sleep paralysis used to happen to me a few years ago. I just thought to put Sakura and Sasuke in this situation and made it into something cheesy.**

Sleep Paralysis

Both Sasuke and Naruto agreed that Sakura didn't learn how to heal because she's always known how. Sakura has always been the one to look out for the three boys of her team. She always supported them, comforted them and made sure that everyone was okay and happy. Despite her personal issues, she cared for her beloved team first. It was only natural that she became a medic years later. She wanted to help as many people as she could. Her hard work paid off after sometime. She was the head of the Konoha's hospital, founder of the Children's mental health clinic and the most prestiged medic in the Fire country. Sasuke was proud of her, but he also noticed whenever she loaded herself with too much work. He noticed this as much as he noticed her attempts to hide her exhaustion.

"We're going home." Sasuke had entered her office through the window as he had done countless times. Sakura had talked to him about using the door like a regular person but gave up after a few attempts. Uchiha Sasuke was anything but a regular person.

"I'll go home when I'm finished, Sasuke." Sakura didn't looked up from her work. She looked tiny behind the numerous stacks of papers that piled up on her wooden desk. Being the head medic of the hospital was a great honor, but her responsibilities doubled which meant that she spent more time at her office than at home or any other place for that matter.

"You look horrible." The statement captured Sakura's attention and it caused her to look up at Sasuke. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and it wasn't a cute one like the ones he would see her in when they stayed at home during an off day. Her hair looked tangled even when it was tied up by the elastic, and the white lab coat that she wore contrasted against the dark circles under her eyes.

"Thanks."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm just a little sleepy. I'll finish in a few hours and go home."

"I've heard it before." Sasuke knew that she wasn't going to change her mind, other times he would make himself comfortable in the couch and wait until she was finished, sometimes when the paper work wasn't as complicated he would help. He understood that her work was important, but her own health was important as well. Sakura had barely slept 5 hours in two days and Sasuke had a feeling that if he wasn't there to drag her home, she wouldn't sleep at all. He walked over to her desk and put both of his hands on it.

"We're going home now." Sakura knew she wouldn't' convince him to stay this time, once the Uchiha set his mind to something he didn't stop until he got it. Defeated, she responded.

"Okay." Sakura stood from her chair and took off her lab coat. "You're making me dinner for this."

Sasuke's apartment wasn't far away from the hospital, hence the reason why they settled for moving there instead of Sakura's place when they decided to move in together. The trip home was short and after having dinner and taking care of the dishes together, Sakura went over to the shower.

Once she was finished, she changed into her favorite oversized shirt and made her way to the bedroom. When she opened the wooden door, she saw her boyfriend already laying in bed, his eyes were closed and he was wearing only a pair of dark sweatpants. Sakura smiled at this, knowing that she probably was the only person that had the opportunity to look at him like this. He always looked very handsome, but seeing him so relaxed, and laying in their bed with his arms behind his head almost made Sakura want to wake him. After giving it some thought, she decided against it and went to lay down beside him. She got under the covers being careful not to wake Sasuke.

Sakura couldn't remember falling asleep, but she felt that it was seconds after that she suddenly opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to register that something was off. She could see the room perfectly, the big windows and the furniture around her but found that she couldn't move at all. She tried to reach for Sasuke but she felt a heavy weight on top of her that prevented her from making any move. She had been a victim of Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu, but it never felt anything like this before. There wasn't a reason why she was supposed to be feeling this at the middle of the night in the safety of her home which added to the fear that was taking over her. Sakura made an attempt to sit up but she felt the weight on her become heavier. When she tried to open her mouth and alert Sasuke nothing but a whimper came out. Unable to move or speak, Sakura was panicking.

Sakura's breathing became more labored as she was unable to control her body and wasn't capable of figuring out what was happening. She didn't know how much time had passed but it felt like an eternity. Her whimpers and the small twitches of her limbs as she tried so hard to move seemed to wake Sasuke up as he stirred beside her. Being shinobi, both of them were light sleepers and Sakura couldn't be more thankful for that at the moment. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw as Sasuke sat up and looked at her with concern. He hovered over her and grabbed her waist to pull her closer to him.

"Hey, it's okay. You're okay." His hand moved from her waist to her cheek as tears spilled out of her eyes and her whimpers became louder. Her fingers twitched as she tried to move her arms and her breathing became even more laboured. "I'm going to get the light, okay? I'm right here." Sasuke moved away from her for a brief moment to turn on the lamp on the nightstand next to his side of the bed. As the room lit up, he was back to holding her. "Control your breathing." Sasuke inhaled and exhaled slowly for Sakura to imitate him and she did so to the best of her abilities. His hand moved to her hair as he nodded to assure her that she was doing well.

Sakura let out a deep breath as she lifted her arm successfully. She felt a big wave of relief come over her when she sat up and wrapped her arms around Sasuke.

"What the hell was that?" Her voice came as a soft whisper.

"Sleep paralysis. I've had it happen before." Sasuke dried the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "You're fully conscious but your body doesn't respond. It happens for different reasons," He moved away from her as her look became serious. "like sleep deprivation or irregular sleep cycles." By his sudden change in mood Sakura knew the situation had turned on her. It wasn't about comforting her anymore, Sasuke was scolding her for not taking care of herself.

"You have to rest. You can't help people if you're not at your best."

"I know. I will, I promise." Sasuke responded with his usual 'hn' and leaned in to kiss her once more. This time Sakura didn't let go of him so soon, enjoying his soft lips over hers.

Sasuke didn't sleep until he felt Sakura drift off on his arms. The night's episode was a scary way of her body to show that she wasn't properly taking care of herself, but things could be worse if she continued her working rate. As he looked down to her sleeping form he remembered the frightened face she had a few minutes ago. Sasuke realized that he didn't want to see her that way ever again. He didn't want to see her feeling anything else that wasn't happiness, because that was what she always had done for him and her close friends. She always cared for everyone, and now she needed someone to care for her. He had to take care of her because he didn't trust anyone else to do so. In fact, it wasn't just because he felt like they owed her, or because she couldn't handle herself or his lack of trust on other people. It wasn't a duty.

He fell asleep thinking that he wanted her to be happy with no one else but him, she deserved it and he made it his mission to always keep her smiling. He promised himself that he would do anything in his power to make her feel like she didn't need to leave his side.


End file.
